Indians defense, Ramon keys to 23-point second quarter

Behind a courageous performance from senior quarterback Brandon Ramon, Harlandale advanced to the third round of the playoffs and second time in school history Saturday at the Laredo Student Activity Center.

The Indians (10-2) used a 23-point scoring flurry in the second quarter to down tenacious Rio Grande City (5-7) 33-28 in the area round.

Harlandale advances to face Leander Rouse (9-3) in the Region round. The game will take place 8 p.m. Friday at Bobcat Stadium on the Texas State University campus in San Marcos.

“It’s huge,” Harlandale coach Isaac Martinez said, referring to the magnitude of the achievement. “We’ll go back and celebrate with the fans of Harlandale. The school’s support, the team’s support and the community’s support has been tremendous. They’ve came out and watched us all year long, no matter where we’ve played.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Harlandale scored the game’s first 23 points in a span of three minutes, 24 seconds.

The stretch was initiated by Indians defensive back Ruben Zavala’s seventh interception of the season. The senior returned his latest pick about 60 yards to set up Harlandale’s first touchdown. Ramon, who completed 17 of 21 passes, threw six yards to Eddie Pedroza for a 7-0 lead.

The defense also paved the way for Harlandale’s next score. Senior defensive tackle Bryan O’Tani carried a fumble recovery about 20 yards to make it 14-0.

The Indians defense then hemmed the Rattlers deep in their own territory. A bad punt snap went out of the end zone and it was 16-0.

Following the ensuing free kick, Harlandale wasted no time in returning to the RGC end zone. Ramon passed 19 yards to Ian Martinez to make it 23-0 with 4:19 until halftime.

“We had some big catches, especially in the second quarter,” Martinez said. “We also executed in the running game. I thought we moved the ball pretty well.”

Ramon sustained a knee injury early in the game, but still took virtually all of Harlandale’s snaps. Unable to scramble, he threw three touchdown passes in a gutsy performance.

“Brandon Ramon is a leader,” Martinez said. “If he’s able to go, he will go. He showed that tonight. He had a little bump on his knee. I thought, maybe, he wouldn’t be able to play. But he said he wanted to go out and finish the job. He was able to move the ball and get us in the end zone.”

Rio Grande City scored its first touchdown late in the first half. The Rattlers also scored on their next three possessions.

A 27-yard reception from Nick Martinez and a 10-yard reception by Ian Martinez led to Harlandale’s final touchdown. James Mendoza caught the scoring pass from Ramon for a 33-21 lead late in the third quarter.

A fourth-and-five conversion led to a touchdown pass to the Rattlers’ Cesar Martinez near the end of the third quarter. Martinez also caught a 10-yard touchdown pass that put RGC within five with 5:58 to play.

“I’m proud of the victory,” Martinez said, “but we let them convert fourth downs three times in the second half. It’s a credit to RGC’s offense, but we’ve got to do a better job with that.”

With 2:21 to play, Zavala recovered a fumble. Coupled with a long run by backup running back John Aguirre and then a bizarre series of three consecutive penalties after the Rattlers had forced Harlandale into a third-and-11, it enabled the Indians to seal the win.

“John Aguirre made an extremely important play,” Martinez said. “We had a second-and-long, and he made one of the biggest plays of the day. It gave us the opportunity to run out the clock.”